Drawer



3,298,767 DRAWER Richard Thomas Crandell and Chester BifSchellenge r Denver, Colo., and Fred Lee Weiss, 325 Ash St.,' Denver, (1010. 80220, assignors',hy direct and mesne assignments, to Fred Lee Weiss,'l)enver,'Colo. Filed Dec. 30, 1964, Ser. No. 422,355

2 Claims. (Cl. 312 -330)- This invention relates. to the construction of-drawers and like receptacles, and more particularly. to drawers for holding sundries. The invention, an improved drawer, is especially adapted for holding cosmeticiansand beau ticians equipment and supplies, and accordingly, the invention will be hereinafter referred to as a drawerland will be described with reference to .ltS use as abeauticians drawer.

There has been a known need. for an improved construction of small and intermediate-size drawers for the cabinets used by cosmeticians and beauticians, which would more effectively suit their needs when they are working with various small tools and like items, and also with powders, creams and liquids. As such, each drawer must be of a rigid, rugged construction. The several drawers within a cabinet must be provided with selected arrangements of compartments for specific purposes, and the drawers must be of a neat, high-quality appearance consonant with other high-quality equipment found in a modern beauty salon. Also, itis especially important that such drawers must be leak proof, easily cleaned and easily kept sanitary.

Conventional wooden drawers of eventhe best quality are not satisfactory for the beautician because they cannot hold fluids, easily stain and are difficult to clean and keep sanitary. Metal drawers of suitable quality and appearance for this purpose are usually too expensive to use and are especially unsuitable for production in the comparatively small quantities required by this trade, and are completely unsuitable for production on a custom basis, which is sometimes required. Cheaper types of metal drawers are completely unsatisfactory because of their appearance and their tendency to corrode whenever the paint or finish chips off.

Drawers of plastics, that is synthetic resin materials, formed by drawing plastic sheets have been proposed and used. While in some respects such a drawer is ideally suited for the purpose at hand, it is easily kept clean and it may be formed economically in small quantities, and even on a custom basis. However, such are not fully acceptable because drawn resin sheets'tend to warp and change dimensions. Also, .they are generally flimsy in appearance, and they do not lend themselves to the formation of suitable runners and guides for holding the drawers in their cabinet.

The present invention was conceived and developed with the above considerations in view, and comprises, in essence, a composite drawer construction incorporating a drawn plastic pan, formed and compartmented in a selected, specified manner, and embraced within a stable, rugged wooden framework. This combining of materials, as in the manner hereinafter set tforth provides for a novel and improved drawer construction to accomplish the following objects: the provision of a neat-appearing,

high-quality construction at a minimum cost, and fully 2 competitivewith other types of drawers; the provision of a strong, stable construction which can be used with any common type of guide or runner construction for bolding drawersincabinets;the-provision of a; leak-proof, stain-proof pan'portionbf drawn plastic which may be formedinto a single compartment or any other arrangement of compartments, and which is especially easy to keep clean and'sanitary; andthe provisionof a unitwhich is not onlyv ideally suited for use by c'osmeticians and 10 be'auticians, but is also useful for many other purposes.

With the foregoing andother objects in view, the present invention comprisescertain constructions, combinations and arrangements of. parts and elements as hereinafter described, defined in the appended claims and illustrated in preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawing, in which:. FIGURE 1 is an isometricview of a drawer constructed according to the principlesof the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view of a side portion of the drawer as taken from the indicated line .2.2 at FIG. 1,. but on an enlarged scale.

, FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view of the front portion of the drawer as taken from the indicated line 33 at FIG. 1, but on an enlarged scale.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view of the rear portion of thedrawer as taken from the indicatedline 4-4 at FIG. 1, but on an enlarged scale.

. FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary plan view showing one side portion of the drawer.

FIGURE 6 is anisometric exploded view showing the several components constituting the drawer. g

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the drawer D is formed generally as a composite of wood and drawn plastic components, including a plastic pan P and a wooden frame F, consisting of a front face piece 10 and side pieces 11, which embrace the pan and are securely fastened to it,'all as will be further hereinafter described.

.The art of drawingand shaping sheets of synthetic resin, or plastic sheets, by v-acuumdrawing processes or the like is well,known and many plastic'materials, such as polystyrene, .vinyl, acrylics are capable of being drawn to various and intricate shapes. The basic opera tion. consists in heating the plastic sheet while it is re strained in a frame to a drawing temperature slightly below the softening or melting point of the material, at which time it will assume a characteristic tautness in the frame and yet become highly/ductile and can be easily drawn or pulled into a mold cavity by a moderate suction to form an article determined by the shape of the cavity. One necessary restriction is that the walls of the cavity be sloped sufficiently to permit the article to be withdrawn from the mold after it has been drawn and cooled and solidified.

, A pan P formed of such material will be absolutely waterproof and resistant to the effect of liquids and creams ordinarily used by a cosmetician or beautician, and actually resistant to most liquids except specific solvents and highly caustic materials. It was discovered that a comparatively thick and heavy sheet of polystyrene would be fully satisfactory for the purpose at hand and that it could be so drawn to form the rectangular drawer pan P to produce a rigid unit having a fiat bottom portion 12,v a front wall 13, side walls 14 and a rear wall 15. In drawing this pan, it iscontemplated atented Jan. 17, 1957 3 that thebottom 12 will be pulled, as by a vacuum, into a mold cavity and that the walls 13, 14 and 15 must be formed with a draft or outward inclination to permit the pan to be easily withdrawn from the cavity. However, it is necessary that the front wall 13 be formed perpendicular to the plane of the bottom to properly fit the front face piece 10, as further explained, and the draft of the rear wall 15 may be increased slightly to compensate for the effect of the perpendicular front wall. As illustrated in the drawing, the draft of each side wall may be approximately degrees, and the draft of the rear wall maybe approximately 7 degrees.

In drawing this plastic sheet to form the pan P, it is anticipated that all bends 'and corners will be well rounded or coved as at 16, as illustrated at FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, to permit the pan to be easilycleaned of waste powders, creams and the like which tend to collect in the corners of such containers. This facilitates not only cleanliness, but also permits the drawer to be acceptable sanitary-wise and of a type especially desirable where sanitary inspections are required. 7 v

A great advantage of drawing the pan portion from a sheet of synthetic resin lies in the ease with which the pan can be compartmented into individual watertight compartments. In the drawing, the pan is divided into four longitudinally disposed compartments 17 which is illustrative only of one mode of division. A compartment dividing wall 18 is formed by a properly placed division wall in the mold cavity into which the resin sheet is drawn and as illustrated, this wall will not extend to the full height of the peripheral walls .of the pan, but to a height of approximately two-thirds of the wall height to avoid unduly weakening of the peripheral walls. Also, the dividing wall will be formed with a suitable draft or inclination at each side, with the corners and edges being coved as at 16 and with the top edge being smoothly rounded as at 19. It was found that the drawers could be compartmented longitudinally as shown, or transversely, or as acheckerboard-like group in any desired arrangement. Accordingly in preparing drawers for a cabinet for a beautician, each drawer may be compartmented to holdspecific tools and supplies, all to provide fora highly efficient cabinet.

The lightness and apparent fiimsiness ofthe pan P, characteristic of an 'articleformed' of a drawn plastic sheet, is eliminated by the rigid front face piece 10 and the side pieces 11 which form the frame 'F'. The front face of the drawer is preferably a wooden member of solid or laminated material ofhigh 'quality and of a type which will match the cabinet wherein the drawer is to be placed. This face piece is of selected uniform thickness and is proportioned to fit its cabinet. 'Accordingly, it is of a selected length and will ordinarily have squared ends 20. The front face 10 is attached to the front wall 13 of the pan, with each end 20 extending beyond each side of the pan'in a balanced manner which will provide sufficient material to join with the side pieces 11 which are attached to the sides of the pan, as will be hereinafterdescribed. The height of the front face will be at least the height of the drawer pan walls and may be greater to include an offset lower pull edge 21, as illustrated at FIG. 3. In addition to or in lieu of the pull edge 21, the drawer face'may include a handle or knob 22 of any suitable construction, as illustrated at FIGS. 1 and 6.

Each side piece 11 is formed as a wooden strip having a length somewhat greater than the depth of the pan P and a height the same as that of the pan. To accommodate and to abut against the pan side walls 14, the inner wall 23- of each side piece 11 is sloped oppositely to the draft inclination of the side wall 14, as clearly illustrated at FIG. 2. This produces a narrower top edge 24, wider bottom edge 25 and a vertical outer wall 26, as clearly illustrated'at FIG. 2.

4 The attachment of the side piece 11 to the front face 10 may be in any conventional manner. A preferred attachment as illustrated provides for a groove 27 adjacent to each end 20 of the front face and a tongue 28 at the end of each side piece 11 which meshes into a groove to form a gained butt joint, as clearly illustrated at FIG. 5. However, it is to be understood that the pieces 10 and 11 may be interconnected in other manner, such as by dovetail joints or even by a simple butt since the several are effectively held together by their attachment to the pan, and a strong joint is not essential.

The interconnected face piece 10 and side pieces 11 form a cradle wherein a pan P is adapted to snugly fit, with the perpendicular front wall 13 abutting against the inner side of face 10 and with the slopping side walls 14 nesting within the embrace of the counter-sloping inner walls 23 of the side pieces 11. It is important that such be a comparatively snug fit for the components. The pan P and frame F are then easily assembled by the use of a mastic 29 or like adhesive which tightly bonds the abutting surfaces together. A number of adhesives or mastics are available which are especially adapted to adhere with polystyrene and with wood, and may be used for the purpose at hand. For example, a good quality rubber latex type mastic has been found to be suitable for the purpose at hand.

In finishing an assembled drawer, it is especially desirable that the top surface edges of the frame and pan present a smooth, continuous or flush appearance, as illustrated at FIGS. 2 and 3. Such a finished appearance may be easily obtained by providing a small amount sembly 30. The connection of the guide to the drawer is by the simple expedient of securing it to the wooden sides 11 with wood'screws 31. In this manner the guides may be securely located in their proper position on the side of the drawer, as illustrated. It is to be noted further that any suitable type of guide may be used for the purpose at hand and even that guide slots, not shown, may fie-formed in the side pieces 11.

In the construction of the above described unit, it was found that a standard back piece was not necessary as a part of the frame F since the drawn pan P will ordinarily provide adequate rigidity and strength to keep this portion of the drawer stable. However, where such becomes desirable, it involves only the addition of a reinforcing back piece which would extend between the side pieces as a flat member and be bonded to the back wall 15 of the pan. Such variation, not shown, would in no way depart from the spirit of the invention.

We have now describe-d our invention in considerable detail; however, it is obvious that others skilled in the art can build and devise alternate and equivalent constructions which are nevertheless within the spirit and scope of our invention. Hence, we desire that our protection be limited, not by the constructions illustrated and described, but only by the proper scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A drawer formed by mounting a pan within a frame, wherein the pan comprises, a drawn sheet of plastic synthetic resin drawn to form as a unitary structure, a substantially flat bottom and a front wall, opposing side walls and a rear wall upstanding from said bottom, with the front wall being drawn to be perpendicular to the plane of'the bottom and with the side and rear walls being included outwardly from the perpendicular at a small angle suflicient to provide for drawing draft, and wherein said frame member comprises a fiat front face piece, rectangular in section, lying flatly against and be adhered to the perpendicular front wall extending and with each end extending therelbeyond, and flat, opposing side pieces, trapezoidal in section, abutting against the ends of said front face piece at each side of the pan, said side pieces having inclined inner surfaces lying flatly against and be adhered to the inclined pan side walls with the outer surfaces of the side pieces being perpendicular to the plane of the bottom of the drawer and thereby adapted to fit into a conventional square drawer socket and to receive and hold conventional drawer guide members;

' 2. In the drawer defined in claim 1, wherein the height of the frame front and side pieces is substantially as great as the height of the pan walls, with the top surfaces of the pan walls and frame members being finished to a common plane surface.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,312,325 3/1943 Earle 312-308 X 2,570,958 11/1951 Lee 2l7-3 10 2,758,387 8/1956 Stann 312-311 X CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

F. DOMOTOR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DRAWER FORMED BY MOUNTING A PAN WITHIN A FRAME, WHEREIN THE PAN COMPRISES, A DRAWN SHEET OF PLASTIC SYNTHETIC RESIN DRAWN TO FORM AS A UNITARY STRUCTURE, A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT BOTTOM AND A FRONT WALL, OPPOSING SIDE WALLS AND A REAR WALL UPSTANDING FROM SAID BOTTOM, WITH THE FRONT WALL BEING DRAWN TO BE PERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE OF THE BOTTOM AND WITH THE SIDE AND REAR WALLS BEING INCLUDED OUTWARDLY FROM THE PERPENDICULAR AT A SMALL ANGLE SUFFICIENT TO PROVIDE FOR DRAWING DRAFT, AND WHEREIN SAID FRAME MEMBER COMPRISES A FLAT FRONT FACE PIECE, RECTANGULAR IN SECTION, LYING FLATLY AGAINST AND BE ADHERED TO THE PERPENDICULAR FRONT WALL EXTENDING AND WITH EACH END EXTENDING THEREBEYOND, AND FLAT, OPPOSING SIDE PIECES, TRAPEZOIDAL IN SECTION, ABUTTING AGAINST THE ENDS OF SAID FRONT FACE PIECE AT EACH SIDE OF THE PAN, SAID SIDE PIECES HAVING INCLINED INNER SURFACES LYING FLATLY AGAINST AND BE ADHERED TO THE INCLINED PAN SIDE WALLS WITH THE OUTER SURFACES OF THE SIDE PIECES BEING PERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE OF THE BOTTOM OF THE DRAWER AND THEREBY ADAPTED TO FIT INTO A CONVENTIONAL SQUARE DRAWER SOCKET AND TO RECEIVE AND HOLD CONVENTIONAL DRAWER GUIDE MEMBERS. 